A number of services are available, as listed below. Voice uses the circuit switched C-channel, whereas data uses the P-channel in the forward direction and the T- or R-channels in the return direction, depending on the size of data to be transmitted (R-channels are used for single signal unit messages). Two data services are available:
Ø Data-2: Used for ACARS over satellite messages on OSI layer 2 (data link layer)
Ø Data-3: Used for Aeronautical Telecommunication Network (ATN) OSI-protocol traffic on OSI layer 3 (network layer)
|
Service |
Antenna |
Global Beam Operation |
Spot Beam Operation |
Data Channel Rates |
Circuit Switched Channel Rate |
|
Aero-L |
Low gain |
Yes |
No |
600, 1200 |
|
|
Aero-I |
Intermediate Gain |
Yes |
Yes |
600, 1200 |
8400 |
|
Aero-H |
High Gain |
Yes |
Yes |
600, 1200, 10500 |
21000 |
|
Aero-H+ |
High Gain |
Yes |
Yes |
600, 1200, 10500 |
8400, 21000 |